


The Radio Still Plays

by xxoceanswavesxx



Series: The One to Make It Stay [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: "original" akumas, Akumatized Mirielle Cauquet, Aurore spills tea about Alya's blog, Canon Divergence, F/M, Lila doesn't actually appear but is discussed, Marinette gets to have fun with friends, Mentioned Lila Rossi, Summer Vibes, Tea is spilled about Alec, The Beach Episode, as in they aren't canon to season 3, lukanette au, minor Julerose and Myvan, ml salt, ml salt au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-11-03 20:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20530928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxoceanswavesxx/pseuds/xxoceanswavesxx
Summary: Sequel to "White Hot Morning".Marinette and friends head down to the beach for Summer Session.Aka the beach episode.





	1. Drove Down to the Shoreline (I)

"_The radio still plays, among the mangled metal frays, petroleum spirit daze." - Son of Mustang Ford, Swervedriver_

\---

“That’s enough for today,” Fu advises, pouring a cup of tea at their table. With that said, Marinette drops her transformation and goes to return Kaalki to the box, but Fu shakes his head. “It’s time, Marinette. You’ve trained so diligently for the past month, you may take the horse miraculous with you on your trip to Prado Beach.”

“Oh my god, _ thank _you, Master Fu,” she says, cradling the horse before placing it in her bag, “Luka would have understood, but I want to be there when they have their first big performance.”

“You’re a superhero, Marinette, so of course you have responsibilities. But you are young, and summer vacation comes and goes quickly. Fun isn’t something that should be out of your reach.” 

At this point, she’s not surprised by him saying such a thing, but her heart still swells with relief when he does. A fear lingers in the back of her head that no matter how much she does, it’s never enough and certainly not enough to warrant a break. Summer was the time of year meant to be free of responsibility and commitment, and to take on fun, adventurous prospects, and from his expression, Fu seems to agree with this. 

“However, before you leave, I want to run through everything to see if we have any business left,” he says, “For starters, I’d like for you to take the snake with you as well.”

Her eyes immediately light up. _ That _wasn’t something she expected to hear from him. “You mean-”

“Yes. It seems that your faith in your teammates has been shaken since that Lila girl returned to your school. We can’t afford to have leave everything to you, but we also can’t have you working with a team you don’t trust. Speaking of which, have you spoken with the bee or turtle heroes?”

“I spoke with Carapace,” she sighs. Nino was, of course, entirely bummed about being told that there was a chance he would no longer be a hero due to him shirking his responsibilities as a civilian and going along with Alya’s plots to get out of babysitting. Still, she gave him the same deal she did Alya, although it would be more difficult to keep track and see if what she said go through to him. While she had been tempted to drop the bomb concerning Lila, she needed to know that he was open to change and eventually hearing her side out without making accusations like he did when Lila came back to school.

And then, there had been Chloe. The last significant encounter Marinette had with her was at the Ladybug movie premiere, which was about a month ago. Of course, she saw Chloe acting out during class and on the field trip as well, but Marinette made it a point not to directly engage her unless prompted. And since the bee hadn’t been needed in a while, Ladybug didn’t have contact with Chloe either.

“I haven’t spoken to Chloe in a while,” she says, “She’s on vacation right now, and won’t be back anywhere between next week and next month. But I’ve been thinking about how to break the news to her.”

With one glance, Fu knows what it is she’s thinking about, and encourages her to take a sip of her tea. This blend in particular had been growing on her lately, calming her nerves and allowing her to relax, especially as the steam hit her face. And this time is no different, assuring her that she’ll figure out a solution to the Chloe problem. 

Their conversation ceases as Fu ponders over something. Though his eyes are closed, Marinette is certain that it has something to do with the miracle box and the fates of the miraculous. It doesn’t help that Wayyz regards his master’s expression before turning to face the box himself. It’s unusual to see the turtle kwami so bothered, but lately it’s almost as though it’s become his default expression.

“There’s another matter that concerns me, and that’s regarding Chat Noir,” he finally says, and the sigh doesn’t escape unnoticed. “I realize things have quieted down a bit after Viperion helped you with Desperada, but it seems that Chat Noir has been rather difficult to work with lately.”

Biting her lip, Marinette opts to take another sip of her tea. There had been exactly _ one _ other akuma attack after Desperada and they had been dispatched of rather easily, without so much as a trace of Chat showing up. She thought about it from time to time, thinking that Chat purposefully chose to _ ignore _the attack just so he didn’t have to face the two of them. It wasn’t a thought she liked entertaining, so she said nothing, but once again, her expression gave it all away.

Still, it hadn’t been all bad. Viperion was more than capable of stepping up to the plate, the lack of attacks left her with more time to focus on the varsity jackets, working on her application and portfolio, preparing her own outfits for Summer Sesh, _ and _ training with Master Fu to master the horse miraculous and start her Guardian studies. She hadn’t felt quite so productive and energetic in _ months. _

“He has,” Marinette admits, “But I’m not sure if we can just cut him like with Chloe.”

“As much as it pains me to admit it, you’re right. We can’t afford to cut Chat Noir, at least until we can perform the ceremony for you and Viperion,” Fu says, “Thankfully, I’ve been able to make significant progress in the past few weeks, thanks to Hawkmoth being mostly inactive. Still, it concerns me that he might have a greater plan in the works, so I’ll try to have it prepared as soon as possible.”

Joy and guilt fight for a place in her heart. For so long, Chat had been at her side and had been the one to encourage her to accept her role as Ladybug. When she brought on the other heroes, even before Viperion, she only wanted him to accept them as a necessary part of the team, not more important or worthy of her respect. But it always seemed like he questioned her intentions _ then _, with him now downright disrespecting Viperion.

Why did things have to change like this? Why couldn’t both boys be able to support her?

“Marinette,” Fu says gently, “Forget the approaching storm. Go and have fun with your friends. Chat Noir and the others will be waiting when you come back. You’ve already done everything you could.”

The urge to argue that _ no she hasn’t _is strong, but she manages to bite back the words. He’s right, and it pains her to admit that.

So instead, she says, “Thank, Master Fu.”

_ \-- _

Two days pass, and finally, _ finally, _it’s time for the trip down to the beach. A little before midnight, the group consisting of herself, Kitty Section, Jagged, Penny, their intern, Ruby, Anarka, Rose’s father, Raphael, and Gina, all gather in the parking lot of the recording studio, waiting for the tour bus to arrive. Upon its arrival, they all cheer and get in line to get on. 

“Ugh, _ finally _ ! You know, it’s not summer without a summer road trip,” Jagged says, gesturing for everyone to pile onto the bus. “This will be just like the time we toured, _ years _ago and spent eight hours driving to LA, right, Penny?”

“If I recall,” she says coolly, settling at the front of the bus, “That was the time you insisted we stop at that one fast food place and said we wouldn’t leave the state until we did.”

“Well, yeah!” he insists, “If we did, we’d have the biggest regret of our lives - not getting _ that _burger with such an amazing milkshake!”

A rare smile escapes from Penny and Marinette can’t help but laugh as she passes the two of them, heading to the middle of the bus. Luka has already claimed the seat by the window, and she quickly settles in next to him. Sitting in front of them are Rose and Juleka, while Mylene and Ivan sit on their left, all four of them ready to pass out for the evening.

They’re on the road within a matter of minutes, and the long trek down to Marseilles begins. The adults are still talking at the front of the bus, while Rose, Juleka and Ivan all fall asleep. She’s about to fall asleep too when she hears a somewhat familiar song start to play and Jagged banging his head along to it. Luka drums along to it, and it’s only then that she realizes it’s the same song that he played for Manon at the museum weeks ago. 

“Ah, good to see you’re familiar with grunge and shoegaze,” Jagged says, leaning on his seat, “I remember listening to this whole album on my first tour. Of course, that tasteless Bob _ hated _it. I guess it was too edgy for him.”

“I think he hated it because you played that album for three hours straight,” Penny points out, “But then again, I can’t say I disagree with him being tasteless.”

The adults all laugh and burst into conversation about Jagged’s old touring days, and while Marinette occasionally peaks in on the conversation every now and then, she’s mostly content to either check her Instagram feed or work on a design before sleep can overtake her. After seeing her latest photo, a t-shirt she designed for and had modeled by Juleka, get a whole bunch of likes and positive comments, she decides to lie her head down against Luka’s shoulder and sleep.

Around five-thirty in the morning, Marinette and Luka wake up to Jagged snoring and realize that they aren’t going to get any more sleep until later that day. There are a few new notifications about her post, which she’s quick to share with a still half-asleep Juleka. It earns her a blush and a nervous giggle, prompting Rose to open her eyes slightly to see what’s going on.

“Oh my gosh,” Rose says, yawning, “Sweetie, that’s so great.”

Luka smiles as well, “That was just the warm up though, right? You still have to model the varsity jackets and make everyone envious.”

Juleka sighs, “Always placing such high expectations on me. Do you want me to choke?”

“You’re not going to _ choke _ ,” Luka laughs, “ _ None _of us are going to choke.”

“And how do you know that?”

His lips curve into a mischievous smile that would make Chat Noir jealous. “Because we have our lucky charm right here,” he declares, patting Marinette on the shoulder.

She’s torn between yelping at how cute a line it is and freaking out, thinking that Juleka will put two and two together and figure out what she means. There’s even some jostling in his jacket pocket that she can feel. Instead of giving Sass away, she tries to keep her eyes glued on Juleka’s expression and see if she catches on.

“Wow, and I thought _ we _had cheesy pet names for each other.”

She bites back a sigh of relief. That had been _ really _pushing the limit, but if neither one of them managed to make the Ladybug connection, she can relax a little. It’s perfectly innocuous. Besides, “lucky charm” wasn’t a term exclusively associated with Ladybug. People made lucky charms before Ladybug arrived, and they would continue to make them long after she would eventually retire. 

Though that smirk of his makes her consider pulling him aside and chiding him, even if slightly. He’s remarkably quick to pick up on this and whispers a quick “sorry,” in her ear.

Sighing, she rolls her eyes and whispers back, “I’ll forgive you this _ one _time.”

While Jagged is chaos and energy incarnate, Penny is the embodiment of foresight. That’s why just as Marinette’s stomach begins to grumble, she finds Penny walking up from the front of the bus, handing out croissant sandwiches. Apparently, she talked to Marinette’s parents weeks in advance to have something prepared for their trip out, much to everyone’s delight. She only wishes that they had coffee as well, but that would have to wait until they arrived at their hotel.

Despite that, the rest of their ride is pretty nice. Ivan finally wakes up a little after six, while Mylene is still passed out. Everyone begins checking their phones with Luka showing her photos of “Kitty Section Cosplay” as he put it. The last hour of the trip flies by so quickly, it takes her a moment to realize as they’re pulling up in front of their hotel.


	2. Drove Down to the Shoreline (II)

"_There was a sign by the roadside. Back by the road is where my body's layin'." (Son of Mustang Ford, Swervedriver_)

\----

After their arrival at the hotel, they went for a proper lunch and explored the area for a little while. Kitty Section is pulled away by Jagged, Penny, Raphael and Anarka for rehearsal in the evening, while Marinette explores the backstage area with her Mylene, and her grandmother gets directions and maps for the general area. 

Surprisingly, Marinette recognizes more people in the backroom than she thought she would. First, she catches the rare sight of Nino and Adrien wandering about, with no Alya in tow. The Gorilla stands behind the two of them, giving an intense glare to anyone that stares in the direction for more than two seconds. Marinette is quick to make herself as unnoticeable as possible.

There’s also Vivica, the guitar player she recognizes as Colette’s cousin, running from outside and leaping over the entry point, to where all of the acts are meeting up. Strangely though, neither Mirielle nor Colette appear to be at her side.

She realizes why that’s the case, two seconds later, when Mirielle comes crashing head first into her.

“Oof,” she groans, “Oh, I’m sorry, Marinette! I was trying to get to where the other acts are and I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and-”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” she says, helping her up to her feet, “It happens to me quite a bit too.”

“Mirielle,” Colette says, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Why don’t you go on ahead? I’ll catch up in a bit.”

For a moment, Mirielle hesitates, gulping but eventually nodding her head and dashing off. Still, there’s no doubting the look of concern in Mirielle’s face as she leaves them and heads into rehearsal.

“So how’s it been going?” Marinette asks, not sure how to clear the air, “You excited to see Mirielle perform?”

“Oh, yeah, she’s been practicing real hard for this,” Colette answers immediately, “Although, I do have to admit I’m a bit worried about her.”

“Well, it _ is _her first performance,” Mylene offers, “Ivan was pretty nervous to first time he and Kitty Section played at the Music Festival, though he wouldn’t tell anyone that.” 

“It’s not just that,” she admits, biting her lip, “Um, I can’t really say. It might get me in trouble, and um, no offense, Marinette, but I don’t really trust Alya to know.”

Gulping, she averts her gaze, looking down. “Actually, I haven’t spoken to Alya for almost a month.”

Her eyes widen. “So, wait, those rumors are true? But I would have thought…” she shakes her head, “Are you and Alya not friends anymore?”

“We’re taking a break from each other,” Marinette explains, “Though she seems like she took it very personal.”

“I see, my apologies. But if I tell you this, you can’t tell her. I’m afraid she might try to publish something on it and get it all wrong, making us look bad.”

A solemn nod is all it takes to assure Colette. Granted, even if Alya knew, it’s not something she could have posted to the Ladyblog anyway. It wouldn’t relevant content. Then again, that hadn’t stopped her from posting irrelevant stories anyway.

Colette looks about the area before leaning in to whisper, “_ Alec _,” she says in a low tone, “is a nightmare to work with. He’s the reason Vivica and Aurore got akumatized, and I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone else got akumatized tonight because of him.”

“I figured Vivica was upset by him, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard what happened with Aurore,” Marinette frowns, “She was upset about the Weather Girl competition, right?”

“She _ was _, but it was because Alec egged her on. She was going to just go cry in private and congratulate Mirielle, but then he rubbed it in her face how badly he lost,” she sighs, shaking her head, “Like, who does that?”

Unfortunately, she could think of a few people, one of whom was supposed to be a superhero, that fit that description. It was sad to think that so many people would still go around trying to take advantage of others and upset them when there was a supervillain that could weaponize negativity still at large.

“Anyway,” she says with a sigh, “I’d better get over there to keep Mirielle calm. With the performance tomorrow, she’s going to need all the help she can get.”

“Oh, okay, bye Colette.”

The rest of the evening goes by without incident, everyone grabbing a quick dinner and retiring around nine o’clock. Tomorrow is the big night, and with plans of her, Gina and Mylene exploring the city for a little bit before the event, Marinette has no problems with falling asleep.

\---

Day two begins with an early, but proper breakfast before Kitty Section leaves again for band practice. That leaves Marinette with her grandmother and Mylene to decide that a nice walk along La Corniche is in order.

“It’ll do us some good to get some nice sea air after all that traveling yesterday,” Gina says, “Ooh, I wish I had my bike with me though. Not to toot my own horn, but you should see my hair flying in the wind!”

“Is it back in the shop?” Marinette asks.

“No, but I figured since we were taking the bus down, I’d leave it with your dad,” she explains, “I bet he and your mom are practically drooling over it as we speak.”

At first, the sight of it is difficult to imagine, especially with her dad towering over the bike, making it seem more like a child’s toy. But a leather jacket with skulls on the black and fingerless gloves do seem like the sort of thing he’d wear if given the chance. And there was no doubt that her mother would have fun wearing Gina’s clothes for a day. The thought of it makes her laugh.

“Oh, hey, Marinette!” someone calls out. Marinette is quick to realize the voice belongs to none other than Aurore, who is admiring the view while going for a stroll of her own, “It’s nice to see some familiar faces down here. I thought it’d just be me, Colette and Mirielle, but I’ve been seeing a lot of people from school show up.”

Marinette nods. _ Maybe _ too _ many people _. “Have you seen anyone else from school?”

Gina takes this as a cue to take some photos, while Mylene joins Marinette for gossip. Aurore seems excited by the prospect of sharing secrets even in such a small circle.

“So far I’ve seen you two, Nino and Adrien, but I also know Kitty Section is supposed to be performing,” she says with a wink, “But I also heard rumors that Lila _ supposedly _has backstage passes to see Jagged Stone. Not that I would need them to meet him. When I was auditioning for different programs, I saw him in the studio a couple of times. He also gave me his autograph at the Ladybug movie, see?” She holds up her phone, playing a video of her running into Jagged and asking him if he’d sign her copy of his last album. He even smiled and posed to take a photo of her. 

“I don’t know about _ Lila _,” Marinette says, shooting a wary glance in Mylene’s direction, “But if you wanted to meet Jagged, you could always just visit backstage with us.”

“I still can’t believe you’re Kitty Section’s costume designer,” Aurore says, clasping her hands together, “Actually, I might have to steal you and ask if you can help me with one of my auditions.”

“Oh, that’d be cool. Just text me later and we can work something out.”

“Great! Oh, and about Lila,” Aurore says, searching the area around them before pulling them closer, “I honestly doubt she’s even coming. You know I get for a diplomat’s daughter, she’d have access to some extraordinary stuff that us normies only dream of, but she tries really hard to flaunt it,” her eyes suddenly grow bushy and bright, and she cradles her hands at the side of her face, “‘_ Oh, a Jagged Stone concert? Well, I can pull some strings and get you into the VIP section! Clara Nightingale? I’m totally designing her next outfit! Prince Ali just sent a postcard from Portugal, wanna see?’ _” Aurore rolls her eyes at the end.

“You know, I didn’t even think about that,” Mylene says, “She always talks about herself, but she never really asks much about _ us _, you know?”

“That’s because she doesn’t care unless it benefits her,” Aurore declares, “Not to mention, I heard from Mirielle that Rose said Ali doesn’t know Lila. Is that really true?”

“Yes,” Marinette says, “She got a message from him not too long ago, actually, and he says he’s never met her or her mother. If you want proof, I can ask Rose to show you later.”

“That’d be great. But why don’t you guys tell Alya? She really went out of her way to accommodate and defend Lila, but now I’m getting the feeling she didn’t even do her proper research.”

“It’s not that,” Mylene points out, “We told her and she brushed it off as if it was a fluke.”

Aurore raises an eyebrow at this and hums. Silence falls among the three of them, until Aurore finally says, “I see. That’s pretty irresponsible for an investigative journalist. Maybe that’s why she put the Ladyblog on hiatus.”

Now Marinette falls into shocked silence. “Wait, she what?”

“You didn’t know? I thought you would have been the first to know,” Aurore frowns, “Were the rumors about you and Alya falling out true?”

_ Falling out _ ? Did Alya really get _ that _ offended that Marinette wanted some time and space away from her, that she rewrote the story to make herself look better? Maybe she _ was _spending too much time with Lila and that caused her to change like this. Or even worse, Lila was accelerating the rate of Alya’s stubbornness, making her less and less open to other possibilities and explanations.

“I simply told Alya I wanted to take a break for the summer,” Marinette explains, “She was being pushy about my love life, even when I was trying to move on from my former crush, and generally favoring Lila’s side of the story over mine, even when I gave her sources and evidence she could have consulted,” she sighs, rubbing the sides of her head, “I have a lot on my plate, and I can’t be dealing with all that on top of it.”

“Sounds rough,” Aurore responds, “I’m sorry about that. Hopefully, she comes to her senses. Heck, maybe she’s using that hiatus time of hers to get her thoughts together and think about how she treated you.”

Marinette bites back a grin. Surely, that would have been nice, but she’s afraid to get her expectations up only to be disappointed again. Not to mention, if it was going to work, then _ both _of them would have to be on the same page, and knowing Alya, that wasn’t likely in the near future.

“Marinette, let’s get going while we still have time!” Gina insists, starting to walk ahead a bit. Mylene begins to follow suit, waving goodbye to Aurore.

“Alright, I’m coming,” Marinette calls back, “Hey, you can either hit me up in my DMs or just text me about that commission of yours. I probably won’t get around to it today, but when we get home, we can work something out.”

“Sounds good to me,” Aurore says, “Thanks, Marinette!” 

\--

Their time in the city comes and goes quickly. They do a bit of sightseeing and grab a nice lunch, before heading back to the hotel area and getting ready for the concert. The entire time, Gina is recapping some of her recent trips around Europe, and by the time they arrive back, she wraps up her story about watching the bullfights in Spain.

“Although I have to admit,” she says, “After that Heroes’ Day incident, it wasn’t nearly as exciting as I thought it would be.”

Mylene shivers, looking away. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Marinette looks to her grandmother, silently gesturing for her to speak no further of the subject. Gina looks a bit confused, but complies and changes the subject.

As if Hawkmoth himself overheard the conversation, Marinette feels her phone buzz and checks it to see a message from Luka.

_ Be careful. Mirielle Cauquet was just akumatized. Goes by the name Stage Fright. I’m hiding and ready for SoS if you need me. _

She doesn’t waste time texting him the SoS response.

“Wait,” Marinette says, “There’s an akuma out by the hotel grounds.”

“_ What _?” her grandmother practically shrieks, “Alright, let me at ‘em! I’ll show ‘em who's boss!”

If they hadn’t been in the middle of such an emergency, Marinette might have remarked that Gina was spending too much time with Anarka. Putting the thought aside, the two girls follow Gina all the way back to the grounds, before dodging and getting out of the way of a pair dancing and doing cartwheels down the street.

“Why are they doing that?” Mylene asks, looking about for the akuma, “Do you think it has anything to do with-”

Before she can finish asking her questions, they catch sight of the akuma zipping past them, and hiding behind a building across from them. It’s difficult to get a clear idea of what Stage Fright looks like - Marinette can only get a flash of brown from her clothes, and what she thinks is the facial mask of tragedy - but the more unnerving part is that Marinette isn’t even sure of where Stage Fright is now. Hopefully, Luka has managed to transform without getting caught, because it’s going to take her some time to figure out a distraction.

“Ivan!” Mylene shouts, running in his direction and throwing her arms around him in a hug, “What’s going on? Where did everyone else go?”

“I’m not sure,” he grunts, “Luka got separated from the rest of us in the chaos, and Rose saw Mirielle was upset and went to try comforting her before the performance, but couldn’t stop her from being akumatized. Then Juleka tried to step in and see if there was a way to track her but-”

Something hits the two of them, because all of a sudden, they start singing at each other. Seeing that a bathroom is nearby, Marinette runs inside and is relieved to see that no one else is inside, miraculously enough. From there, she transforms and sends a message to Chat. As much as she doesn’t appreciate his attitude, it wasn’t going to hurt to have backup on this mission. Viperion, thankfully, is already waiting for her at the top of the hotel.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he says as she touches down on the roof, “It’s been difficult to observe Stage Fright. She’s pretty erratic and doesn’t have a clear target to attack. But it seems her ability forces people to sing and dance out their most embarrassing or secret desires.”

Frowning, she tries to avert his gaze. “There’s a chance that if either of us get hit, it’ll give away our identities. We’re going to need to be covert about this. Hopefully, Chat finds us soon and we can come up with a plan this time.”

Sure enough, Chat Noir comes into view, jumping over the roof of the hotel. He lands in front of what appears to be Stage Fright, having now paused to regard him. This gives Marinette a moment to study her opponent's appearance; very dull and unassuming, as if trying to hide from the spotlight. She can now confirm that Mirielle wears the Mask of Tragedy, a long navy robe that covers her entire body, and a beige scarf. As thankful as she is to finally get a good view, though, she's not happy about Chat's lack of a greeting. 

“Or, he could just ignore us. _ Again _,” she sighs, “You think you can get in close enough to hypnotize her?”

“I can try,” he frowns, “But with Chat at the helm… sorry, but I just don’t trust him enough to let me get the job done.”

Not that she can exactly blame him for feeling that way, but it leaves them in a bit of a tight pinch. It feels a bit early to call upon her Lucky Charm, but hopefully, it’s something that will allow for her to catch Stage Fright off guard. She summons it, and the item in question is a tea kettle. 

“Wait,” she gasps, “Viperion, I know what I need to do. Make yourself scarce until I get back! I’m going to need your help!”

Finding a place to transform back, she swaps in for Kaalki and makes haste opening up a portal to reach Master Fu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, so this chapter is now three parts, so we're going to have at least four chapters. It was taking me longer since I can't just rewrite an episode or predict what's going to happen. 
> 
> We also have a TVTropes page now! There isn't much on it, but we have one!


	3. Drove Down to the Shoreline (III)

"_Gotta get some love now. Love back in my veins, gotta kill this pain._" (_Son of Mustang Ford, Swervedriver)_

\--

“Master Fu!” Marinette yells, quick to close the portal and drop the transformation, “There’s a serious attack happening down at the beach and I need backup!”

“Not a problem. Although, it’s a bit curious that an akuma is all the way down there. And if he's able to have some control and speak with his victim, then it means that Hawkmoth himself is all the way down there.”

_ Ah, yes, as if Paris’ biggest supervillain needs a vacation _ , she thinks to herself solemnly. “Isn’t it possible that Hawkmoth sent it from his lair?”

“If we assume that his lair is here in Paris, then no. That butterfly would have to travel all the way to Marseilles, and even with how skilled he is with the miraculous, he wouldn’t be able to detect someone’s emotions from that far away,” Fu explains, “Not to mention all of the targets along the way the butterfly could pick instead and how much easier it is to control someone that’s closer to you. It’s just not practical.”

Then it meant that maybe Marinette could start narrowing down her possible list of suspects of who Hawkmoth could be. She would have to keep an eye out for Parisians that appeared at the festival. She already had a small list of people in mind, but would have to keep it to herself until she could make it back home.

For now, she focuses her attention on the miracle box. Even before removing the lid and hearing Fu’s speech about the miraculous, though, she has a feeling that she’s going to need more than one to finish up the job. And sure enough, when her eyes fall on the spots for the tiger and pig, she knows exactly who to get for help.

Warping back to Marseilles, Ladybug wastes no time in looking for Juleka and Rose. She’s hoping for the opportunity to present them with the miraculous separately, but amidst all of the chaos, that might not have been an option.

All sorts of people are being forced to sing and dance, much to their embarrassment. One guy professes his love for his brother’s girlfriend while rapping. A young girl is forced to admit that she stole from her mother via musical number. There’s also a bunch of young kids being forced to dance despite their protests of needing to go to the bathroom. And yet, neither the akuma nor Viperion is in sight.

Checking backstage in Kitty Section’s area, she finds both Juleka and Rose hiding another musical act behind the couch, with Juleka monitoring her phone for any news of Luka or the akuma.

“Ladybug, you’re back,” Rose exclaims before covering her mouth, “What happened to Viperion? And what’s going on with Chat Noir?”

“I’m about to find that out. But first, I need the two of you to come with me. I have a plan.”

The two girls look to each other and nod, before assuring the other group that they would be okay. Following Ladybug out of the room and into an empty section of the building, she pulls out the two miraculouses.

“Rose Lavilliant and Juleka Couffaine. These are the miraculouses of the pig and tiger. I am asking if you will use their powers to help defeat our enemy. Once the job is done, you will return the miraculous to me. Can I trust you two?”

There’s no sign of hesitation from either girl. Both of them nod, taking the boxes from Ladybug. Rose is blinded by the light as Daizzi appears from her box, whereas Juleka is more awed by Roarr’s appearance.

“Wow, you’re like a magical fairy!” Rose exclaims, finally able to take in the sight of her kwami, “You’re so cute!” 

Her comment earns her a giggle from Daizzi, as Roarr laughs at Juleka’s silent but curious look.

“Hi, I’m Daizzi,” she says, swirling around Rose, “And I’ll be your kwami! Us pigs like to play, but we’re not afraid to get dirty doing so! When you call upon your power, you’ll be allowed to use either your Mud Bomb, Glue Stick or Sock Launcher! Mud Bomb will cover the opponent and reveal where the akumatized item is! Glue Stick will get them stuck in place! And Sock Launcher will allow you to tag them and track your opponent by scent! But you only get one per transformation and once you use it, you’ll only have five minutes before you transform back! So make sure to choose wisely!”

“And I’m Roarr,” he says, floating next to Juleka, “The power of the tiger, Stealth Mode, will allow you to track opponents through auras and match their pace to hunt them down and pounce when the moment is right. You also have a five minute timer after activation use.”

“I have something else to tell the two of you,” Marinette says with a sigh, “Technically, neither of you are supposed to know each other’s identities. It puts you in a bit of a dangerous situation. However, I didn’t have any way of being able to give you the miraculouses separately without drawing a lot of suspicion. So you need to be careful and focus on your mission, and no matter what happens, try not to give away anything about knowing who the other person is.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rose says.

Juleka nods, “Let’s go save Summer Sesh.”

\--

Viperion, thankfully, still hasn’t been affected by Stage Fright, but a quick glance over the venue reveals that Chat Noir definitely has. He’s singing a ballad about how hurt he is over Ladybug picking another guy over him. 

“Wow, I can’t believe Ladybug, Chat Noir  _ and  _ Viperion made it all the way to Summer Sesh,” Rose, or rather, Princess Piggy, says. Both Ladybug and Viperion shoot each other an all knowing “It’s been a while since we’ve seen them, especially Chat Noir.”

“We should stay low so he doesn’t see us,” Juleka, now Tigresse Rayé, comments. “He might try to give us away.”

“A shame we can’t have a full team meeting. But the four of us will do great, I can tell,” Viperion says, “It’s nice to meet you two. I’m Viperion.”

As the two girls introduce themselves, Ladybug takes in her surroundings, barely able to keep track of the blur that is Stage Fright. One thing for sure is that they need to find a way to slow her down in order to figure out what the akumatized item was and break it. She had a feeling that one of the tools from the pig was going to play a major role in getting it, but deciding which one to use was going to be difficult.

From the worried look on Princess Piggy’s face, she didn’t seem any more sure than Ladybug herself. And with Stage Fright making herself scarce, it was going to be near impossible to get the item as is.

As much as she doesn’t want to so soon, she summons her Lucky Charm, bringing her a water gun. She’s only glad that Chat isn’t around to make up some comment about playing games or something. Noting the area around them, Tigresse Rayé is the first to light up, followed by the small garden at the hotel, Princess Piggy, Viperion and the water gun. Suddenly, everything begins to fall into place, and she gets everyone together to reveal the plan.

Tigresse Rayé is admittedly a bit worried about her portion of the plan, but with Viperion volunteering to help lure out Stage Fright before getting into position, things are bound to go a bit smoother. If Ladybug didn’t know any better, she would think that the two of them already knew each other’s identities from the way they assured each other.

The hotel garden is a very small, but relaxing place. Ladybug assumes it’s a place meant for hotel employees to relax outside, based on the fact that there’s two picnic tables and a drinking fountain, and not much else other the plants that had to be tended to. And under ordinary circumstances, it would have been impossible to get into this area, since it was often blocked off to the public.

Opening the cap, Ladybug dips the gun into the fountain and fills it up, remaining low and out of sight. Princess Piggy waits just in front of her, now certain what tool it is she needs to summon. And not a moment too soon, as Tigresse Rayé, Viperion and Stage Fright all land in the garden. Tigresse Rayé is desperately trying to keep Stage Fright from reaching Viperion. 

With a quick signal, Ladybug is able to get Tigresse’s attention and hand her the water gun. With one shot, Tigresse is able to splash Stage Fright in the face. Throwing her yoyo, Ladybug is able to hold Stage Fright back until Tigresse grabs her from behind. Viperion is barely able to keep up with the speed, but manages to land in position in front of the two. 

“How could you do this?” Stage Fright cries, “Why do you only want to embarass me? You’ll all-”

The moment her eyes open, Viperion’s trance silences her, and Princess Piggy summons Mud Bomb. Something underneath her scarf begins to glow; a mic pack. Throwing it to the ground and shattering it, the akuma flies out, and Ladybug is able to heal everything right away.

“Ugh, Ladybug?” Mirielle asks, stretching out her arms, “What happened? Oh no, did I get akumatized?”

“I’m afraid so,” she says, gently touching her shoulder, “But you’re safe now..”

“Oh, no, Colette,” she sighs, “I have to-” 

She runs off, heading to the front of the hotel, the heroes following behind. Sure enough, almost everyone is sitting at the front of the festival ground, dazed and confused, Colette included. Running into her arms, Mirielle cries, “I’m so sorry! I knew you would be a better performer than me, but Alec said he couldn’t resist watching me embarrass myself on stage!”

“Wait,  _ what _ ?” Colette asks, staring at her, “What are you talking about?”

She tries to hold back tears as she explains, “I overheard him say something about purposefully giving me a bad song and messing with the vocals of my mic so they could get a viral ‘so-bad-it’s-good’ hit online.”

“Is that so?” Vivica asks, rushing over to the two of them, “Then that’s settled. Neither I nor Mirielle will be performing tonight, not as long as Alec is in charge of the set.”

Everyone in the crowd, having come to their senses, overhears the exchange and starts to boo. Interestingly, most of them aren’t booing at Mirielle. They’ve spotted Alec standing on the stage, looking out to the crowd nervously.

“What? Mirielle, don’t be silly, I would never do something so silly! It’s just a bout of  _ Stage Fright _ , am I right?”

“Actually,” Jagged says, “Now that I think about it, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard about you pulling something like that. If the rumors are true, then that means you’re responsible for the last Weather Girl’s flop of a hit too, aren’t you?”

Alec’s jaw drops slightly, as the crowd around them erupts in furious conversation. Realizing the situation was under control, Ladybug pulls Viperion, Princess Piggy and Tigresse Rayé away, taking back the miraculouses and waving goodbye. After returning them to Master Fu and meeting back up with Luka, the crowd seems to have gotten itself under control.

“Wow, what a night,” Luka says, “And we still haven’t even done our set yet.”

“You mean the night just started,” she points out, gesturing to everyone else headed backstage. “I think that’s your cue.”

“You’re right. I can’t wait to show everyone the jacket you made.”

She laughs, kissing his cheek, “Break a leg, rock star.”

\--

The set is the smoothest part of the night. Someone kept Alec from messing with the tech, so Mirielle was able to perform her song without it being ruined. Colette even got to join in on the fun and turn it into a duet.

She’s thankful for the spot she has, just close enough to the stage to get everything filmed. Kitty Section only has three songs to perform, but they make the most of it, and the crowd loves them. Comments about their varsity jackets catch her attention, and she quietly laughs to herself in amusement.

Just as she’s waiting for Luka and everyone else to get off stage and meet back up with her, she runs into two familiar people and bites back a frown.

“Oh, uh, hey Marinette,” Nino greets awkwardly, “Didn’t expect to see  _ you  _ here. Um, how’s it hanging?”

“It’s fine,” she says, maybe a bit too quickly. She tries to not stare at either one of them for too long. “I’m just waiting for Luka.”

“Oh, yeah? That makes sense,” Nino laughs, practically choking as he forces it out. “It’s been a while, huh? I know I’ve gotten in the way of you and Alya hanging out-”

“That’s not entirely true,” she frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. Although she did sort of resent the two of them for always going off on dates and leaving her behind to babysit, or even just not include her. It hadn’t always been like that, but it definitely was getting worse before Marinette confronted Alya. “If anything, it’s nice to get some space.”

“Did you two have a fight?” Adrien asks, “If so, you should probably make up with her.”

Irritation isn’t an unfamiliar feeling to her. But directed at Adrien, it feels completely new and a bit scary. There had been only one other time she felt this way toward him, and that was his first day of school. But he took the time to clear up the misconception and she thought they were headed toward sunnier, happier days.

Looking at him now is like looking through a bout of fog; she’s not exactly sure what’s waiting on the other side, but she’s pretty sure she doesn’t like it.

“Maybe you should stop assuming that  _ Alya  _ was the only one to be upset by all of this,” she fires back, “Do you really think that I wanted to fight with her? No. But I’m not just going to sit back and go along with everything she wants to do anymore. And the same goes for you, Adrien.”

“Marinette-”

“Hey guys,” Luka says, placing a hand on Marinette’s shoulder, “Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but we’re about to have an emergency band meeting, and Marinette is needed. Maybe we can catch up at a later time?”

Thankfully, Luka doesn’t wait for their response as he pulls Marinette away. 

“Thanks for that,” she sighs, “I was afraid I was almost akuma bait there.”

“And just as we were about to grab dinner too,” Luka says, clucking his tongue and patting her head. “Did they ask about Alya?”

She nods, sighing as she takes his hand and follows him back to the group. “I  _ am  _ going to talk to her again, but it has to be on  _ my  _ terms, and not  _ theirs _ .” She sighs. “I’m sorry, I’m just venting again.”

“It’s fine. There’s nothing  _ you  _ have to apologize for anyway,” Luka says, “I’m going to be honest with you, I’m not a fan of the way Adrien’s been talking to you lately.”

“I’m not either.”

He looks as though he wants to say something else, but for now, this response satisfies him and he falls into silence. The rest of the evening is thankfully more fun with a tasty dinner and girl chat in their hotel rooms, but that expression of his as he contemplates Adrien doesn’t leave Marinette’s mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally as I get around to writing the conclusion to this episode, summer IRL has to end. Well, we're going to be in the sunny hot month of August for a while, even after Beach Bum concludes, and with all the warm weather in my area, I can pretend the cold can't hurt me for a little longer.


	4. Hey, Shoreline, Take Me Far Away (I)

"_Hallucinogen headlamps, my sane scape's disrupted in a pickup truck" (Son of Mustang Ford, Swervedriver)_

\---

The view from her hotel room is drastically different from her Parisian balcony. No sounds of people chatting below, nor people rushing home from work at the last minute. No imminent threats of Hawkmoth’s latest akuma lingering in the back of her mind, not as a possibility but a  _ certainty.  _ No, it’s just the dreamy sounds of the ocean waves rocking back and forth on shore, and the sea breeze air overtaking her nose and tongue. 

Marinette finds herself wishing she was in the world of dreams, asleep and peaceful instead of awake and contemplative as she is now. Grabbing her phone and stepping out of the room, onto the balcony, she catches Luka’s eye. She wants to say something, but he raises a finger to his lips and instead texts her:

L:  _ Couldn’t sleep? _

M:  _ No, too much on my mind. Here I am, on vacation,  _ stressing  _ about something. Can you talk about something to distract me? _

L:  _ Well, I was gonna wait before telling you, but we had an idea for our album. _

_ M: Yeah? _

_ L: We thought it would be cool (and funny) to write a “screw you Hawkmoth” album. You know? Draw on our akumatization experiences? _

_ M: That would be pretty bold of you. It’s weird that no one has really come forward to make an artistic statement like that, though.  _

_ L: Well, after what happened today and some things that Jagged said, I’ve been having some thoughts about that as well... _

_ M: So the mayor doesn’t look too bad for doing little, right? _

_ L: That has to be part of it. You would think after a year of these attacks, especially at a public event, someone in government would push for taking more precautions or doing something to counteract the effects of Hawkmoth’s powers. _

She sighs. She’s surprised no one else hasn’t thought of making an artistic statement by now, but it’s been a long time coming. The news reporting on the incident that evening mentioned a few comments about people getting sick of Hawkmoth taking advantage of people having bad days or being caught in a bad moment. Sure, Ladybug was there to fix everything, but it shouldn’t have been happening in the first place. And people were taking to social media to voice their concerns.

_ How long do we have to suffer through this? Why is no one doing anything about it but Ladybug? Shouldn’t we be investigating at least to figure out who this guy is? _

_ We’re going to need a massive amount of therapy following this so people don’t start suppressing their emotions. Hell, we should be implementing therapeutic measures  _ now.

Whether or not something  _ would  _ be done about the matter, only time could tell. It did make her seriously rethink her strategy on fighting Hawkmoth, however. Rose and Juleka had successful outings as miraculous holders, so they were looking like good, long-term candidates as team members. That meant a solid team of four, with hopefully more to come.

Something flickers across the sky; it’s Chat Noir, out for a midnight stroll. It’s difficult to read his expression, but she gets the feeling that he isn’t too happy from the way he jumps from rooftop to rooftop. She has to admit, it’s pretty curious knowing that he’s come all the way down here for Summer Sesh, but that curiosity isn’t the feeling that most preoccupies her mind.

Fingers curling around her phone, and biting into her lip, Marinette gives a long, hard stare in Chat’s direction, as if staring long enough would summon his attention. Let him see how irritated she was, even if he couldn’t connect the dots. These days, he wasn’t even content to give her a hello, and it really made her second guess his intentions and feelings toward her. Had he honestly thought it appropriate to get so huffy with her? And what about the Chat that had her back, who encouraged her to get the people to believe in them? Did his own belief only go as far as his romantic intentions?

She doesn’t want to believe it, and so returns her attention back to the phone. She’s thankful to have Luka to share some of these thoughts with, but she sometimes wonders if it’s too much. Rough patches were inevitable with every relationship, but between Adrien and Alya alone, there was a mountain of drama. Chat only made things worse, and while nowhere near as bad as everyone else, she still had issues with Nino. And of course, Chloe and the inevitable confrontation that was to come wouldn’t make things better.

_ Please don’t let there be another akuma today, _ she asks silently.  _ I just want to spend some time at the beach with my friends. And if Hawkmoth is down here, then he really does deserve a ‘screw you’ albums for ruining people’s vacation. _

She catches a glimpse of Luka staring at her in concern, before she receives a buzz.

L:  _ Are you okay? _

M:  _ Fine. Mostly. Okay, a bit tired. I’m hoping things will go a bit smoother today. I’m sorry about Hawkmoth nearly ruining your set. _

L:  _ I’m not upset about it. We had four awesome superheroes to save the day ;) Besides, every rock concert has a little something go awry. Jagged told me a few that are pretty legendary. _

A giggle escapes from her as she can only imagine the hijinks that must have ensued.

M:  _ :0 And you didn’t tell me?? _

L:  _ Trust me, it’s a lot more interesting if you hear them from the man himself. There’s a sort of gravitas when he tells them. You’ll see what I mean. _

Well, she certainly knows what tomorrow’s dinner conversation will consist of. She hears an exasperated sigh from inside, realizing it’s from Juleka. Something occurs to her and she immediately shares her thought with him.  _ _

M:  _ You know, you might be able to use Juleka’s music video idea for one of your songs. _

L:  _ We already talked about that. She’s really looking forward to it. You’ll definitely be the first to hear and see it. _

M:  _ <3 Thank you. _

L:  _ Anything for my favorite person in the world. _

L:  _ Hey, Mari? _

M:  _ Yeah? _

L:  _ I’m really happy you were able to come with us. I know things have been wild lately. But it just wouldn’t have been the same if you hadn’t come. _

She looks up from the screen, and they both catch each other’s glances. If they weren’t separated by a balcony, she’d run into his arms and hold him in her own until she fell asleep. Instead, she smiles and shoots back a message.

M:  _ Anything for my favorite person in the world.  _

_ \-- _

The morning brings about excitement, as it’s Ivan’s birthday. No one suspected that someone as big and tall as him was actually one of the younger students of the class, born at the end of July, but Ivan's family was known to have the tall genes.

Mylene chats excitedly with Juleka and Rose about the day’s events. It wasn’t anything  _ too  _ extraordinary, just some fun and relaxation down at the beach. But sometime after their arrival to the hotel, Mylene managed to procure some of Ivan’s favorite iced coffee, and was going to bring it out for him when they went down to the beach later. 

Breakfast is a quick and quiet affair. The adults are still gossiping over the Alec Cataldi situation, especially as breaking news reports and talk show segments cover the latest akuma attack. Anarka and Gina are grilling Jagged for everything he knows about the guy. Soon, curiosity even claims Penny and Ruby, who beg him not to spare any details.

The six teens are joined by Aurore, Mirielle, Vivica and Colette, who are all doing their best to avoid gartnering any further attention to themselves. Almost anyway - Aurore doesn’t seem to care if anyone spares a glance in her direction, and goes about drinking her coffee without a care in the world. But Mirielle is undeniably twitchy, even when talking about her successful performance.

“You were really good,” Mylene offers, “You must have been practicing very hard!”

“Oh, yeah,” Mirielle says, “Vivica and Colette really helped though. I never would have done it without them.”

“I get what you mean!” Rose replies, shooting her a smile, “If I had to sing with no backup, I don’t think I’d be able to utter a single note! A great guitarist makes all the difference,” she says, making a point to wink at Juleka across the table.

“Oh, my little rose garden,” Juleka swoons, “It’s too early in the morning to shower me with such compliments.”

“No offense,” Aurore remarks, raising an eyebrow, “But that was one of the sappiest pet names I’ve ever heard in my fourteen years of life.”

“Thank you,” Juleka says with a shy smile, “Me and my angel of rock work really hard on them.”

No one can resist laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, and the mood lightens up. Even Mirielle doesn’t seem so down anymore, even if she doesn’t say much else. The rest of breakfast flies by quickly, and Mirielle’s group decides to leave to explore La Corniche together. They agree to meet up again in the afternoon and catch up at the beach.

They all return to their rooms to change into their bathing suits. As much as she would have loved to design something, Marinette had to settle for a simple, aqua tankini to wear underneath a sleeveless, pink hoodie and light wash denim shorts. Finishing up the varsity jackets was more important than having something new to wear herself, and she didn’t regret it for a single moment. The photos posted on Instagram were filled with comments praising Kitty Section for their performance, with a handful of comments begging to know more about their outfits. One thing was for sure, the Gauguin Institute would have to keep an eye on her now, if they hadn’t before.

With sunscreen slathered and refreshing beverages gathered, everyone heads out to the beach area to lay their towels down in a spot next to her grandmother and Anarka. It’s still starting to get crowded, though Marinette suspects it won’t be too bad until after lunch.

“Ah, we haven’t been at the beach together since you were a little  _ bambina _ , Marinette,” Gina sighs, “I can’t believe you’re already fourteen.”

“ _ Nonna _ ,” Marinette pouts, “You were  _ at  _ my birthday party.”

“Yes, I know, and I still can’t believe it.”

“ _ You  _ can’t believe it?” Anarka retorts, “My oldest is starting high school this year! I don’t even feel a year over 35, and yet this one undoes that by getting older!”

Luka laughs, “Sorry, mom. I can’t control the passage of time.”

“Well, I hope you don’t.  _ I’d  _ want to do that.”

Marinette’s lips curl in as she reminds herself to never let Anarka know more about the miraculouses. If she found one, she had no idea what might happen. And while she grew quite fond of Anarka, she didn’t know if the head of the Couffaine clan could be trust with that sort of power.

Even if it was amusing.

After the playful banter, Marinette is dragged away by Rose and Juleka to play with a frisbee. They are joined by Mylene only after she gives Ivan his coffee and speaks with Gina and Anarka about the finishing arrangements for his birthday surprise. It’s the reason that Jagged, Penny and Ruby aren’t with them, allowing them to put everything into effect.

Juleka tosses the frisbee to Mylene, but it’s slightly  _ too  _ out of her reach. Sighing, Mylene goes to pick it up before throwing it Rose.

“You guys are lucky,” Mylene points out, “I can never manage to catch those really high throws, even though we’re all near the same size.”

“Except me,” Juleka points out, “I got the Couffaine Giant genes.”

“Aw, sweetie, there’s plenty of good things about being tall,” Rose points out, “Like making you a good fit for the modelling world!”

“And being able to catch frisbees,” Mylene points out, “Seriously, though, can you guys throw a little lower? My reach isn’t great.”

Catching the frisbee from Juleka, Marinette throws it back to Mylene, with a more careful, accurate throw.

“Like  _ that _ . Thanks, Marinette.”

The game goes on for a little bit longer, until they are joined by Luka and Ivan. With everyone involved, they decide to break up into teams and score points. On one side, Marinette is paired with Ivan and Mylene, while Luka shares the field with Rose and Juleka.

“Well, there goes another opportunity to show up my sister,” Luka sighs.

“You would have lost and ate my dust,” Juleka taunts back. The game only begins after a group laugh is shared.

While Mylene and Ivan aren’t the fastest on their feet, Ivan is able to cover more ground with larger steps, and Mylene remains within a respectable distance to play either offensively or defensively. This is especially important, as Ivan is able to catch some of the passes made to Luka and redirect them to Marinette, allowing them to score two points. Mylene is also able to make a fair number of intercept plays, assisting in earning them another point. 

At one point, however, Ivan trips over his feet trying to dodge Rose, and the frisbee goes flying towards a man in his late forties.

“Hey!” he shouts, making all of them jump, “What the  _ hell  _ do you kids think you’re doing?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Ivan says, standing in front of the rest of them, “We were just playing. It was an accident.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be running around the beach then!” he huffs, crossing his arms over his chest, “Don’t you know that  _ some  _ of us are trying to  _ relax _ ?”

“Hey!” Anarka shouts, rushing out of her chair to get in the guy’s face, “Who do you think you are to yell at kids trying to enjoy their vacation? He already apologized to you, you oaf!”

“Ma’am, you need to get these kids under control,” he says, “The beach is meant to lay in the sun and have a nice drink, not for your kids to be such nuisances!”

“And who are you? Some sort of rule-maker? Because if so, I spit in the face of such ridiculousness,” she declares, “No one here got seriously hurt, and he already apologized to you! He’s more of an adult than you are, and he’s not even in high school!”

“ _ What _ ?” he scowls, “Ugh, forget it. I’ll just have to find an area of the beach  _ not  _ infested with school children. How  _ annoying _ .”

The group crowds together as the man pushes past them, his phone, headset and towel in hand. He’s in such an apparent hurry, he even forgets the drink that he had with him.

“What a  _ loser, _ ” Anarka scowls, “Kids, don’t let such a jerk ruin your fun! Play until your heart’s content, and if anyone else gives you a hard time, I’ll make sure they walk the plank for their troubles!”

  
They all nod, but share a concerned look with each other. Marinette especially looks at Luka for a long enough time for him to get the mental note.  _ Another akuma might be in play soon. Let’s stay alert. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this out yesterday, in case anyone needed a care package after Loveeater/Hearthunter. But if it helps, I'm also working on the next chapter of "Paper Sky Peels off the Walls".


	5. Hey, Shoreline, Take Me Far Away (II)

"_Been driving for days now. Been driving to take the pain away." (Son of Mustang Ford by Swervedriver)_

\--

Things remain mostly quiet for the rest of the morning, well into lunch time. No one is expecting anything major to happen until around dinner time, so when Jagged returns with Clara Nightingale, everyone can’t help but gawk in surprise.

The white summer dress she dons is simple and yet elegant. It’s a form fitting piece with creases, and sleeves that cover her shoulders but show off the rest of her arms. With her black sunglasses and white hat, she’s the image of classic, summertime fun.

“All of you look so wonderful and happy today!” she says, taking a seat between Marinette and Gina. “I’m glad to see my former co-stars are now pursuing their own careers in the industry!”

“You remember us?” Ivan asks.

“Of course I do! You were all in my favorite music video! Man, that was a rough day, but the final product was worth it,” she sighs, “Ivan, was it? I heard from your manager that today was your birthday!”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Well, happy birthday,” she says, handing something over to him, “I’m giving you and a friend tickets to see my new interview live. It’ll be sometime in two weeks. I hope you’ll be able to come.”

Gasping, he looks to Mylene and both of their eyes widen. They both share a nod before happily replying, “Yes!”

The three of them converse happily, while everyone else chats about the upcoming activities for the afternoon. After a bit of conversation about the interview, Clara turns to Marinette. “By the way, Marinette, I heard that you were the one to design the varsity jackets for Kitty Section’s performance last night.”

Before she can even answer, almost everyone at the table trips over themselves to gush over her handiwork, especially Rose, who pulls her jacket from her bag.

"She really tailored them to us and made them the perfect fit," she squeals, "Not too big or small! And it's even the right shade of pink!"

"Y-You guys," Marinette blushes, rubbing the back of her neck, "You're all too sweet. But," she says, turning her head back to Clara, "I'm really curious to know about what _you're _wearing. Are you wearing who I think you're wearing?"

“Why, yes, this is a Gabriel Agreste original,” she beams happily, “He made this in addition to what I'm wearing onstage. Actually, he’s supposed to make an appearance tonight when I perform. It’ll be good for him to get out of the hotel room.”

Marinette bites into her lip, trying to suppress a frown. It wasn’t  _ too  _ surprising to hear that he would have come down here if Adrien and Nino were around. It didn’t really feel like his kind of crowd, but if he had clients, he probably wanted to be there to make any last minute alterations on site. 

“That’s sad,” Ruby comments, leaning over the table before placing a hand over her mouth. “Er, what I mean is that it’s kinda sad that he has to spend so much time in his hotel room when he should be able to go out and enjoy the summer sun.”

“It’s not  _ too  _ bad,” Clara offers, “He was actually out a few minutes ago. We were walking by a more crowded area of the beach too, when he suddenly remembered he had to do something and left. I think he just wanted to get away from the fighting that started.”

Marinette and Luka share a mutual glance, before Marinette asks, “What fighting?”

“Oh, there was this man, probably in his forties. A kid accidentally ran into him and spilled his ice cream over him. The man got so mad, he started yelling until he was red in the face. Thankfully, the kid’s mother intervened and told him to leave.”

Staring at her glass, she thinks back to not too long ago, when she suspected Gabriel Agreste of being Hawkmoth. At the time, she was hoping to disprove that it was true in order to spare Adrien’s feelings, and when Gabriel had been akumatized into the Collector, she felt immediate relief. After that, she gave the matter no further thought, despite him somehow having ownership of the book that had all information related to the miraculous.

But now, with Clara’s statements in mind, and the weird timing of it all, Marinette wonders if she hadn’t dismissed her suspicions too quickly. Even if Gabriel wasn’t Hawkmoth, who was to say that he couldn’t be  _ involved  _ with Hawkmoth? It was a bit of a stretch to say the least, but it was too weird to gloss over either.

The thuds of people outside the restaurant falling asleep on the ground break her from her thoughts. A loud yawn erupts in the distance, and looking out onto the beach, Marinette notices a large sandcastle, and a swarm of beach-goers with dazed looks in their eyes.

Everyone seems to catch on, and they begin to evacuate the restaurant. As they pile out the doors, the shrieking sound of a microphone blasts, making everyone cover their ears in pain.

“ _ Hey dudes, what’s up? I’m your neighborhood Beach Bum, and I’m here to catch some rays and zs. Now I don’t ask for much. Just don’t be killing my vibe. Otherwise, I gotta send my raddest bros to chill you out. Later, man.” _

As though they needed an example of “being chilled,” Rose and Juleka have buckets of water dumped on their heads, and suddenly join the mindless droning of Beach Bum’s minions. As the crowd begins to cave in on them, Marinette follows Luka, Ivan and Mylene away from the restaurant, and closer to the hotel, where none of the minions have yet to appear.

“We should hide somewhere quiet,” Luka argues, “That way, those zombies won’t bother trying to get us. They only want people who are actively moving about.”

“That means they’ll be up in the hotel soon,” Marinette points out, “Mylene, Ivan, you two hide at the highest point of the building. We’ll wait in the garden until everything blows over.”

“Are you sure?” Mylene asks, “What if something happens?”

“It’ll be alright,” Ivan says, patting her shoulder affectionately, “Ladybug, Chat Noir and Viperion are around here somewhere. I’m sure they’ll know what to do.”

She only nods, leaving to go up the stairs with Ivan. Turning to Luka, they wait until Mylene and Ivan have went up the stairs, before hiding behind the receptionist’s desk. 

“I don’t think I’m going to be of much help here,” he argues, “You might need someone a bit louder to attract Beach Bum’s attention.”

“I couldn’t disagree more,” Marinette says, “Your ability is exactly what’s going to keep us under the radar.”

After transforming, they retreat outside, jumping up onto the roof to do some reconnaissance. As she suspected, a couple of the zombies start meandering their way over to the hotel. Among them are Ruby, Penny, Rose and Juleka, all of whom look like they would rather take a nap than have to track people down and make them a member of their pack.

Looking back over at the beach, she realizes pretty quickly a problem that’s rare to have.

“I’m not going to be able to fly over there with my yo-yo,” she says, “The distance between his castle and the other buildings is too wide, and there’s nothing in between for me to swing onto.”

“We’re going to have to go by foot,” he frowns, “I guess I could put whoever comes in front of us to sleep, but we’d be quickly overwhelmed.”

“I have a feeling,” she mumbles to herself, summoning her lucky charm. As she suspected, she receives a phonograph, and allows herself to switch to the horse miraculous. “It looks like we’re getting more manpower for this mission.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we will have one more chapter before the Summer Sesh arc comes to a close. After that, we're headed back to Paris. And this last chapter is going to be a lot longer than this one, but hopefully, it'll be done soon.


	6. Hey, Shoreline, Take Me Far Away (III)

"_Drove down to the shoreline. Hey, shoreline, take me far away!" (Son of Mustang Ford by Swervedriver)_

_\---_

She wastes no time in retrieving the miraculous from Master Fu. As much as she wants to, she can’t afford to stop and make conversation concerning her preoccupations. She’ll have to wait until everything is finished to consult him about her theory. Hopefully, between now and then, she can somehow obtain more definitive information to share with him.

She's quick to find Mylene and Ivan, who are surprised to see her pop in. Before they can even ask, she makes her offer with the miraculous, and while hesitant at first, they accept her request to become temporary heroes.

“Hi! I’m Mullo, and I’ll be your kwami,” they say, spinning around Mylene’s head, “My power is Multitude, which will allow you to shrink and create multiple clones of yourself. But once you use it, you’ll only have five minutes before you transform back.”

“Oh, wow,” Mylene says, holding a finger out to scratch them, “That’s amazing.”

Ivan, meanwhile, is distracted by his own stoic-faced kwami. “I’m Stompp, and I’ll be working with you today. My power is called Full Throttle. You’ll be able to use it to charge through enemy lines and ignore their attacks on you, but you only get one shot at it. After five minutes, your time is up.”

“Once the job is complete, you will return the miraculous to me,” Ladybug continues, “Can I trust you two?”

The two share a brief look before nodding and transforming. Following that, she leads the two of them up the stairs. Viperion is still waiting for her on the roof, and he’s once again surprised to see that she’s recruited not one but _ two _heroes for their mission. Still, he’s able to make conversation with them pretty easily.

“Oh, wow, Viperion is here again,” Mylene says, “It’s nice to finally meet you! I’m Mouseketeer.”

“Taureau Furieux,” Ivan says with a slight nod of his head, “Glad to be here.”

“You guys look pretty tough,” he says, “We’re going to need to power through as much as possible.”

“Yes, but first,” Ladybug says, “We need to get closer to the beach. That’s where the akumatized item should be.”

There are thankfully buildings they can use to jump all the way down to the beach area. This gives Ladybug enough time to survey the area and prepare a plan of attack going forward. As they jump over to the last possible rooftop, Ladybug summons everyone into a circle and whispers her idea. Everyone looks to Ivan as they all jump to the ground, ready to begin.

“Full Throttle!” he yells. A bubble, not unfamiliar to the turtle’s Shellter, surrounds Ivan, and extends to everyone else when they hold onto the battering ram. A couple of the zombies drift close to them but only knock themselves out when they attempt to grab any of the four heroes. Making it to the castle is suddenly the least difficult portion of the plan.

The main entrance is surprisingly better guarded than she would have expected. Which wasn’t to say it was _ well _-guarded. While the guards stand watch, they don’t make any attempts to move or block the entrance to the door. If anything, it looks as though they’re daydreaming or thinking about taking a nap. Only one of them looks like they are making any attempt to care about doing their job.

“Come on, _ dudes _,” the leader of the group yawns, “We gotta stop them from interrupting the boss man’s R and R time.”

“And _ ours _,” another one says. “Let’s get them or whatever.”

The battering ram has just enough power leftover for them to charge in through the door. The inside of the castle is smaller than Marinette would have expected, with only two rooms. One on the ground level, and one upstairs, with only half a wall to allow Beach Bum to look down on his subjects. The first floor has a couch, a fridge and a stereo system. Up stairs, peering from over the top half of the wall, is a flat screen TV.

“Ugh, we have _ company _?” Beach Bum sighs from upstairs, “Sorry, but we’re not feeling your vibe. You’re gonna have to leave this party, my dudes.”

“Oh, really?” Ladybug says with a sly smirk, winking at Mouseketeer to activate her power. She shrinks down, and each of the heroes picks up one or two of the copies. “That’s too bad. I brought a present and everything.” Summoning her Lucky Charm, she’s a bit confused to see a cable land in her hands. However, she’s quick to realize the connection as she looks at Viperion. “Guys, let’s get this party started!”

She cues Viperion to jump onto the top floor, taking their copies of Mouseketeer with them. As she expects, there are a few zombies keeping watch over their lazy master, who is too busy being fed grapes to comment straightaway. It seems even the akuma design this time around was lazy as well - the guy is wearing striped swimming trunks with a towel wrapped over his neck like a cape. On top of his head, is a bucket used for a crown, and in his right hand, a lime green shovel with numbered buttons on the back, likely making it a remote for the TV.

She hands the cable over to the mini Mousketeers, as she and Viperion plan to handle their opponents. That’s when Chat Noir appears, clearly under the effects of the akuma. Unlike them, he actually seems to get more energized at the sight of the two of them, summoning his Cataclysm.

“Easy there, bruh,” Beach Bum grumbles, “Don’t want to go destroying my sweet pad or my lucky object.”

Chat lunges in for the attack, with Ladybug and Viperion jumping out of the way. The yoyo is too integral for her later part of the plan, otherwise, she would use it to tie Chat up and keep him out of their way. Instead, they have to launch Chat out of the castle. Catching on, two of the Mouseketeers use their jump ropes to make Chat stumble, while Viperion uses his lyre to grab hold of Chat’s free hand. From there, Ladybug catches Chat around the waist with her yoyo and manages to toss him out of the castle and into the ocean. While the miraculous cure will heal all damage, she still hopes he doesn’t accidentally damage any of the wildlife out there.

There are still plenty of guards hovering about downstairs, but with one end of the cable hooked up to the TV, and no more Chat to distract them, Ladybug hooks up her yoyo into the other end, and opens up her camera.

“Now, Viperion!”

“Snake Eyes!”

Viperion’s image is projected to the rest of the castle, with all the guards staring straight into his eyes and falling asleep. Even Beach Bum gives up with little to no fight, allowing the search for the object to break to go uninterrupted.

Mouseketeer gestures to the shovel, and sure enough, the purple butterfly is found and cleansed.

\--

The rest of the afternoon goes by in a flash. The ox and mouse miraculouses are returned without incident, and the victim actually shows up in front of their group yet again. This time, rather than red-faced, he can barely meet any of their gazes.

“Is there something you wanted?” Anarka asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I… wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier,” he admits to Anarka and the rest of the group. “I came out here to relax from all the stress at my job and my recent divorce, and I got mad at everyone else having fun. It reminded me of when I used to play with my son down here. Still, that’s not an excuse for how I acted. I’m sorry.”

_ Ah, _ she thought to herself, _ the shovel must have some connection to that. That’s why Hawkmoth picked that object _.

They accept the apology graciously, and the man continues his trek down the shoreline to apologize.

With everything back to normal and everyone ready to wash up for the evening, Marinette meets up with everyone to attend Clara’s show. Holding hands with Luka, she keeps an especially close eye out for Gabriel Agreste. 

Admittedly, she’s also watching out for Adrien. Between the encounter the previous evening and her current doubts about his father now, she wasn’t sure she’d be able having to talk to him again. Sensing her thoughts, Luka gives a gentle squeeze of her hand and she sighs. She’ll have to let him in on her suspicions later, when they’re in private. She can’t risk sending a text lest she leave a trail that could be used against her later.

Clara finally makes her entrance on stage, and she is absolutely right about her dress - it’s simple and yet outstanding. The main color is sapphire, and it’s accompanied by patterns of peacocks at the skirt, painting it ruby, emerald and baby blue. A belt sits at the waist to cinch the outfit together, while a matching hat with turquoise feathers sits on top of her head.

She loses herself to the music, and she’s all too grateful for it. Coming down to the shore, she didn’t expect to have to deal with two akumas in a single weekend. Admittedly, one was a lot more intimidating to deal with than the other - Hawkmoth must have been disappointed with how Beach Bum turned out. And that hadn’t been getting into his speech patterns either.

Still, even with that humorous thought in mind, it didn’t change the fact that things weren’t going to be slowing down for a while. Hawkmoth was still at large, and that would leave little time to relax. It’s sad really, but chaos was an unfortunate constant in her life.

Clara’s performance finally ends, and Marinette barely catches a glimpse of Gabriel Agreste escorting her offstage, no doubt complimenting her on a job well done. He almost seemed skittish at the idea of being in the spotlight, as though he didn’t want the crowd to see him.

_ It’s too bad he didn’t do a very good job at hiding himself. _

\--

She gives herself a day after returning home before making her way over to Fu’s. Everyone is completely exhausted after the bus ride back, especially as everyone gossiped over the events of the two akuma attacks. Certainly, Fu will want information as to what happened concerning that, even with the dose of news footage and accounts shared on social media.

As if expecting her arrival, a pot of tea has already been made, and he finishes up with some cleaning. “Welcome back, Marinette. I hope your vacation went well, other than the-”

She bites her lip. “Mostly. There’s a few things I want to talk to you about.”

Detailing the two akuma attacks, Fu listens intently to every word, neither his body nor the expression on his face moving in anyway. It’s sort of unnerving. She wonders if he had to do some sort of training to learn that kind of stillness. Or was it just the sort of thing that someone as flighty and nervous as her would never be able to do? He does seem to lighten up when she praises her four new heroes, but other than that, he seems gravely serious.

“It’s very curious that Hawkmoth would show up in that area,” Fu muses to himself, “Perhaps he’s testing the extent of your powers. Trying to figure out if there’s a means of you being able to teleport. I’m worried he’s caught wind of the existence of the horse miraculous and its powers…”

“That shouldn’t be it. I made sure no one saw me use it,” Marinette points out, “Master, what if _ Hawkmoth _ didn’t go to Summer Sesh, but his civilian self did? What if he had work to do there?”

“I suppose that’s a possibility, but that would mean knowing who Hawkmoth really is,” he hums, “I think we can conclude that he’s a fully grown adult, and that’s about it.”

“Well,” she says, biting her lip, “I know that we ruled him out a while ago, but what if Gabriel Agreste has something to do with him?”

For a moment, Fu doesn’t move even so much as twitch, only closing his eyes and takes a contemplative sigh. Clearly, this had been on his mind for a while, but for whatever reason, he’s hesitated in telling her. She’s only more convinced of this when he finally speaks.

“I think we ruled him out too quickly as well. It’s always been strange to me that he had that book. Even if he _ isn’t _Hawkmoth, who’s to say that he isn’t connected to him?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Frowning, he goes into the back of the room, and pulls out a tome. Marinette still isn’t _ that _ familiar with the secret language to decode everything that’s been written on the page he pulls up. But there’s a couple of key phrases that she _ does _recognize, one being “essence of trickery”. 

“Is this-?”

“Yes,” he says, “I’ve finally begun experimenting with the elixir we need to make for the ceremony. Granted, I’d like to test it on myself prior to you and Viperion having it, but it’s almost time. I’ll make sure to teach it you as well so you may perform it for your new teammates. And from there, we can begin planning out Hawkmoth’s defeat.”

“Master…”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighs yet again. “This holiday trip was meant to be a time for you to relax and enjoy yourself. If I hadn’t made that mistake two centuries ago, you wouldn’t have to pay for it now.”

“Master-”

He holds a hand up, gesturing to her to let him finish, “I’ve long accepted what’s past, Marinette. It’s true that I can’t afford to simmer in my regrets of the past. The thing I need to focus on is guiding you toward the future. Everything else can come after that.”

Somehow, the sentiment sounds all too familiar to her. How many times has she had to push back negative feelings, for the sake of duty? She’s been a direct target for akumatization twice, and if she counted the attack of the Scarlet army, that would make three. Fu has praised her a talented Ladybug, and she fears what would happen with those talents if she were akumatized. While things have calmed down lately with the help of Viperion, and now the new heroes, the fact remained that she was still living her life walking on eggshells, and frankly, so was Fu.

It’s then she realizes that she doesn’t want Hawkmoth gone for the sake of her own normalcy. Until the day the butterfly and peacock were reclaimed, Fu would only feel at ease when teaching or guiding her away. Closing her eyes, she thinks of the next pressing issue to talk about.

“Alright then. I’ve got something I need your help with. It’s about Rena Rouge and the Ladyblog.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the last chapter is out. I swear, this took longer than I expected it would.
> 
> So next up will be Alya's POV in "Paper Sky" and then the sequel to "Radio".

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Lukanette Month, y'all!
> 
> This first chapter was meant to be longer, but I decided to split it because it felt like it would be too long. I have no idea now if the work will be three or four chapters total. 
> 
> And yes, I'm aware of the irony of releasing a summer-focused story when school is back in session. Don't worry, I'll have the back to school portion ready by the time Christmas rolls around (maybe).


End file.
